ISSN:
1432-0495
Keywords:
Keywords Abandoned mines
;
Brine pumping
;
Longwall mining
;
Pillar failure
;
Void migration
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Geosciences
Notes:
Abstract The impact of mining subsidence on the environment can occasionally be very catastrophic, destroying property and even leading to the loss of life. Usually, however, such subsidence gives rise to varying degrees of structural damage that can range from slight to very severe. Different types of mineral deposits have been mined in different ways and this determines the nature of the associated subsidence. Some mining methods result in contemporaneous subsidence whereas, with others, subsidence may occur long after the mine workings have been abandoned. In the latter instance, it is more or less impossible to predict the effects or timing of subsidence. A number of different mineral deposits have been chosen to illustrate the different types of associated subsidence that result and the problems that arise. The examples provided are gold mining in the Johannesburg area; bord and pillar mining of coal in the Witbank Coalfield, South Africa; longwall mining of coal in the Ruhr district; mining of chalk and limestone in Suffolk and the West Midlands, respectively; and solution mining of salt in Cheshire. These mineral deposits have often been worked for more than 100 years and, therefore, a major problem results from abandoned mines, especially those at shallow depth, the presence of which is unrecorded. Abandoned mines at shallow depth can represent a serious problem in areas that are being developed or redeveloped. Abstraction of natural brine has given rise to subsidence with its own particular problems and cannot be predicted. Although such abstraction is now inconsequential in Cheshire, dereliction associated with past subsidence still remains.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002540000140
